Disparities in pregnancy, infancy and early childhood outcomes have been well documented across racial, ethnic and/or socioeconomic dimensions. Attempts to explain these disparities have fallen short of the goal, suggesting the need to reconceptualize relevant theory to define better hypotheses and develop more complex models. This developmental effort begins with the creation of a collaborative research structure and the fielding of in-depth interviews and focus groups designed to develop key insights that will guide research design and instruments for future use across sites. To create a research partnership between Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and the Lake County Health Department, we will implement formal principles of organization design that predict to a high level of collaboration. The ENH and LCHD/CHC have a history of episodic, ad hoc collaboration; here we will build a structured, sustainable partnership. We will then develop an interview script and field in-depth interviews for qualitative analysis that focus on life stress, mental health, socioeconomic status and a variety of issues relating to culture and practice around parenting, health behaviors and health practices. The analysis of this work will lead to some hypotheses about why prematurity and adverse early childhood outcomes affect different groups disproportionately. We will develop a survey instrument for use in Phase 2 that encompasses the key themes from the qualitative work. Finally we take advantage of the planning and implementation of a research agenda moving beyond the classroom into the community. SA 3 will build research capacity through training, particularly of minority investigators. The strength of interdisciplinary collaboration depends on equalizing any power differential across sites and professional disciplines. We therefore will seek integrated education and training opportunities that transcend traditional boundaries.